Red, White and Blue Ice Cream Granola Parfaits

You might be taken aback by the secret ingredient in this recipe – wondering what on earth balsamic vinegar is doing in the line-up, but trust me, it works. Magically.

The red and blue fresh berries macerate (basically that scary word means to release their juices and soak up the flavors of the other ingredients) in a simple mixture of sugar and balsamic vinegar. The result? A sweet and tart berry syrup that has a complexity of flavor that pairs incredibly with the simple, creamy vanilla ice cream and the texturally perfect, crunchy granola.

Oh, these were divine. And so, so easy. Not to mention refreshing, cool, and mighty tasty.

And just in case you are wondering, my husband and our dinner guest had heaping seconds of these yummy parfaits, which caused my children to beg for heaping seconds, which peer-pressured me into having heaping seconds. In the end, we all had heaping seconds and were all the merrier for it.

Is it any wonder I lay awake at night wondering how my pants got so tight? It’s all because of peer-pressure.

4 cups fresh berries (I used a combination of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries, but blackberries would work great, too)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 quart good-quality vanilla ice cream

1-2 cups granola (I used this recipe subbing slivered almonds for all of the cashews and leaving out the raisins)

Directions

Wash and gently dry the berries. Place them in a medium bowl. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar and toss well. Let the berries sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so the berries can macerate and release their juices.

When ready to serve, scoop a spoonful of the berries and syrup in the bottom of a dessert or parfait glass. Top with one scoop ice cream. Repeat the layers. Top with granola and serve immediately.

21 Responses to Red, White and Blue Ice Cream Granola Parfaits

What a great dessert for the upcoming holiday (especially served in that cute mini trifle dish)! I love balsamic vinegar with fruit. There is something wonderful about the sweet/tartness of the balsamic with the sweetness of the fruit. It really is an amazing combination and serving it over ice cream would be over the top delicious! Thanks for sharing (and making me laugh this morning), Melanie!

I love your recipes! I follow your blog religiously. I am making this for the 4th…I love balsamic with anything but fruit..mmmmm. I am sharing my husbands favorite dessert which I know if you try you will love it. Definitely Colorado…. where we live.

In med. saucepan mix gelatin, sugar and heavy cream, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue stirring over low heat until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and fold in sour cream and extract. Pour into custard cups or pots de crème. Chill for 2-3 hours. Just before serving, spoon fresh berries on top. Sometimes I will parfait this but I always use all 3 berries together

I hate to interrupt the party above ??, but these look divine. I’ve never made a fruit topping that involved balsamic vinegar, but I’m up for anything. I’ll definitely give these a try this weekend even though I don’t need any more reason to wonder why my pants are too tight!

What if the coconut were left out of the granola? NO ONE in my family will eat coconut. Anything you could substitute? Otherwise I love the idea. Will have to try it with homemade ice cream, of course.

I put some berries in balsamic and sugar tonight with the intent of filling crepes with them. I ended up eating a lot of the berries before the crepes were finished cooking though…What a great flavor combination.

I also made some banana filling for some of the crepes.
Thanks for inspiring a fun summer dessert that does not require use of the oven!